“I find it so hard to believe that some of these men will never make it out of prison; there are some people who should be in prison forever; but there should be an opportunity for some people who have changed in a way that these men have changed to be released.”
“I was deeply moved and highly entertained in equal parts throughout the evening, and humbled by the performers’ trust when they shared what are ultimately very personal experiences with us.”
“It’s hard to put in to words how incredible the performance was. Words like extraordinary, transformative, breathtaking come to mind, but even these words feel trite and insufficient. I am filled with an enormous amount of gratitude, not only for witnessing this performance, but to have the honor of knowing and caring for these men so much. It was a joy and a privilege to be invited into their lives through this performance.”
“It was really heartbreaking to watch Meat’s performance about his son. What a special and important relationship you have with these men.”
“Hands up, don’t shoot is maybe my favorite piece of poetry/performance ever.”
“I was filled with surprise and also thrilled that the work was personal and composed by the men. I was intensely touched and felt blessed at all the blessing I had in my life, for example, being able to see my dad whenever I wanted to.”
“I believe that there is an enormous value to this work, both for the students but also for the public.”
“I believe that I have made it to all of the PPTG performances since the first one and I have always been impressed, moved and entertained by the men. The honesty mixed with humor that they build into their performance is really something.”
“I didn’t know quite what to expect, but my expectations were definitely exceeded. I was so impressed by the courage of the performers to share from their lives and to write and perform their own stories with such craft, intelligence and humor. I felt this very humbling – a challenge to myself to “know and grow into myself” as the performers have/are doing.”
“I can say, there wasn’t one moment that didn’t stick with me. Each actor’s vignettes stuck with me. First of all, for the men to put themselves out there with such truth and passion takes guts. If that wasn’t already enough then- to act out their story and move so powerfully and fluidly, in sync with each other and the audience- remarkable. It is a tribute to the integrity of the theater volunteers working at Auburn to be able to earn that level of trust.”